FREMONT – Who says sequels are never better than the original?
The Fremont Ross football team found itself replaying the same script as last year’s thriller at rival Findlay.
The Little Giants trailed by 21 points early in the fourth quarter in 2017 before rallying to comeback in a heart-breaking triple overtime loss to the Trojans.
Friday night, the Little Giants again faced a 21-point deficit in the final quarter. And again, Ross rallied, scoring in the final minute. Only this time, the Little Giant didn’t force overtime.
Hayden Lehmann
Instead of kicking a game-tying extra point with 31 seconds to play, Ross went for a 2-point conversion and the win. Quarterback Hayden Lehmann, who led a brilliant offensive attack in the fourth quarter to get Ross back in the game, carried the ball over the goalline for the game-winning points in a classic, 43-42 victory that no one who remained at Don Paul Stadium will soon forget.
“When I know we have not a lot of time left and we have to make a play or we have to score to win the game, I know all eyes are on me,” Lehmann said. “I just take a deep breath and remain calm and act like I’ve been through it before and make plays. That’s what happened.”
Findlay looked like they put the last nail in the Little Giants’ coffin with a 14-play 83-yard drive to take a 42-21 lead with 6:29 to play in the game. Ross’ ensuing possession ended on a low snap which Lehmann could not get a handle on, turning the ball over near midfield.
MORE: Noah Hotz and Hayden Lehmann getting their names in the Ross record book
But on the first play of Findlay’s next series, linebacker Garrett Schneider ripped the ball loose from the Trojan runner, giving the ball back to the Little Giants. Two plays later, Lehmann hit Bryce McKinstry for a 42-yard touchdown with 5:18 to play.
“There is a lot of pressure, but you have stay calm,” McKinstry said. “You can’t get over emotional and then you get your head out of the game, you have to stay focused and keep your head in the game.”
Bryce McKinstry
Marquan Cobbins
Findlay’s next possession last just three plays until Marquan Cobbins made his second interception of the night, giving the Little Giants the ball once again at Findlay’s 43-yard line. Three plays later, Lehmann scrambled out of the pocket and eluding the Trojans’ pass rush and found Deryante Hardin alone in the end zone. Lehmann’s pass was short, but Hardin made a play on the ball and shimmied his way through the Trojan defenders to get into the end zone and make it a one-score game with less than four minutes to play.
“Our kids have been in so many close games, the Springfield game, the Sandusky game, the same thing (against Findlay) as last year,” head coach Chad Long said. “At some point, things had to go our way. These kids have worked their butts off. Our fans are great, supporting us to the end. It’s great these kids were able to do something for the town and make Fremont proud.”
But it looked like Ross would run out of time. Findlay did a nice job on its ensuing possession, keeping the ball on the ground, milking the clock and picking up a pair of first downs. On 2nd and 10 inside Ross territory, Findlay quarterback Tanner Rickle lost the ball which was recovered by Roger Burling and the Little Giants were suddenly back in business at the Trojans’ 45-yard line with 1:32 to play.
Deryante Hardin
Ethan Chumley
The game-winning drive got off to an inauspicious start, when the Findlay defensive front collapsed the Ross offensive line, sacking Lehmann for a nine-yard loss. But Ross got it all back on the next play when Lehmann found Hardin on a screen pass and Hardin juked and jived for 20 yards and a first down.
Two plays later, Lehmann connected with Ethan Chumley for 21 yards to get inside the 10. On fourth-and-goal, with the game on the line, Chumley took a handoff from three yards out and plunged into the end zone, to bring Ross within one, 42-41.
“We got down by a lot but there was something on the sideline, everyone knew it wasn’t over yet,” Chumley said. “Our team just kept swinging. I love that we have fight like that. It was a phenomenal win.”
A year prior, when Ross pulled off its incredible 21-point fourth-quarter comeback at Findlay, coach Chad Long initially wanted to go for a 2-point conversion and the win. His coaching staff convinced him otherwise and the Little Giants went on to lose in triple overtime.
Friday night, with a second chance in the same situation, Long went with his gut and went for the win.
With his offensive line getting a tremendous push forward, and his teammates in the backfield lending their forward momentum as well, Lehmann pushed his way across the goalline to give the Little Giants’ their first lead of the night with 31 seconds remaining.
“Last year, when we scored right at the end, I wanted to go for two but all the other coaches didn’t,” Long said. “This year, I had a say in it this time. We were going for two and going for the win. This time we knew we were going for two and there was no doubt about it.”
Now it was up to the defense, which had been gashed for much of the night, to make the lead stand up with half a minute to play.
Findlay began at its own 20 and picked up chunks of nine yards and eight yards and 12 yards before reaching midfield with four seconds remaining.
Rickle dropped back to pass but the Ross defensive front, which did a better job in the second half of getting pressure on the Trojans’ senior quarterback, flushed him from the pocket and Jason Burling brought him down for the sack to clinch the incredible, come-from-behind victory for the Little Giants.
“It feels good, coming out with the win,” Burling said. “It was just going through my head, ‘We can’t let them score,’ we couldn’t let them get through.”
Findlay comes out flying
Jason Burling
Garrett Schneider
The Fremont Ross defense had no answer for the Findlay Trojan offense for much of the night.
The Trojans’ used a big-play passing offense to great effect, jumping out to a 21-point lead less than three minutes into the second quarter. Findlay scored on its first three possessions with touchdown passes of 53, 44 and 81 yards. By halftime Rickle had completed 10 of 13 passes for 235 yards. Rickle’s success was due to a combination of terrific blocking by his offensive line, giving him plenty of time to pass, and defensive miscues by the Little Giant secondary leaving the Trojan receivers uncovered.
Ross, on the other hand, struggled to generate offense behind an offensive line that struggled to provide running lanes and time for Lehmann.
The Little Giants trailed 21-0 until the middle stages of the second quarter. Ross got a spark from the defense as Marquan Cobbins intercepted a Rickle pass and returned it inside Trojan territory. Five plays later, Lehmann connected on a post route with Raleigh Weaver, who bobbled the ball momentarily before hauling it in on his way to the ground for the touchdown.
Ross trailed 21-7 at halftime after generating 181 total yards in the first half, though Ross rushed for exactly zero yards on the ground.
“Even though we gave up so many big plays, we didn’t drop our heads like the old Fremont teams would do,” Long said. “We’re going to fight and continue and keep battling back.”
Findlay added to its lead on the first drive of the second half as Rickle scored on a 2-yard sneak up the middle for a 28-7 lead.
Ross, however, found a big play of its own. Lehmann took a quarterback draw along the right side of the line, which opened up a huge running lane for the senior who took off untouched for a 77-yard touchdown run.
The Little Giant momentum didn’t last long, however, as Findlay answered right away with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Rickle to RJ Nunn.
Ross responded with a 33-yard pass to Noah Hotz which led to another 33-yard pass play, this to McKinstry in the end zone for his first touchdown of the night to make the game 35-21 with 2:28 to go in the third quarter, where the game remained until Findlay scored what appeared to be the game-clincher with 6:29 to play, setting up the Little Giants’ incredible finish.
“We never gave up, that was the biggest thing,” Schneider said. “We never gave up and kept fighting the whole game.”
Lemann finished the game completing 24-of-49 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns. He also finished with 74 rushing yards. McKinstry caught six passes for 122 yards and Hotz caught five balls for 93 yards. Hardin made eight receptions for 77 yards.
The Little Giants’ heart-breaking loss to the Trojans last season, made Friday night’s comeback win all the more sweet.
“For sure, we came out on the short end of the stick last year in three overtimes,” Schneider said. “We should have gone for the win, in my eyes, last year, but this year the coaches knew we got the crowd behind us, all the adrenaline is with us, let’s go for it. We plunged in there for the win. It was awesome.”
Scoring by Quarter
FHS| 14 – 7 – 14 –7 42
FR| 0 – 7—14 –22 43
First quarter
FHS – Isaiah Moore 53 pass from Tanner Rickle (Mitchell Taylor kick),
FHS – RJ Nunn 44 pass from Rickle (Taylor kick), 2:31
Second quarter
FHS – Adam Gilbert 81 pass from Rickle (Taylor kick), 9:43
FR – Raleigh Weaver 23 pass from Hayden Lehmann (Alec Slemmer kick), 5:40
Third quarter
FHS – Rickle 2 run (Taylor kick), 8:37
FR – Lehmann 77 run (Slemmer kick), 6:03
FHS – Nunn 15 pass from Rickle (Taylor kick), 2:56
FR – Bryce McKinstry 33 pass from Lehmann (Slemmer kick), 2:28
Fourth quarter
FHS – Rickel 2 run (Taylor kick), 6:29
FR – McKinstry 42 pass from Lehmann (Slemmer kick), 5:18
FR – Deryante Hardin 28 pass from Lehmann (Slemmer kick), 3:54
FR – Ethan Chumley 3 run (Lehmann run), 0:31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Hayden Lehmann, 10-74; Ethan Chumley 7-31; Deryante Hardin 2-1. Totals, 19-106.
PASSING: Hayden Lehmann, 24-49, 375, 4 TDs, 1 INT.
RECEIVING: Bryce McKinstry 6-122; Noah Hotz 5-93; Deryante Hardin 8-77; Raleigh Weaver 2-35; Etha Chumley 2-30; Garrett Schneider 1-18.
Ross Findlay
Total offense 481 517
Rush att. -yards 19-106 47-134
Pass att-Comp 24-49 23-36
TD-INT 4-1 4-3
Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-2
Penalties-yards 8-70 7-75
Punts 3 4